India Center for Social Change

About Us

'Theeram' focuses on young adults with intellectual disabilities and other developmental disabilities in Kerala, India. 'Theeram' now has regional centres at ten different parts of Kerala. 'Theeram' centres are functioning under India Centre for Social Change(ICSC), a trust registered under the Trust Act of the State of Kerala. 'Theeram's prime goal is to help the social process of empowering the mentally challenged.

About

India Center for Social Change

Welcome to India Center for Social Change (ICSC), a non- profit organization that seeks to provide support services to children and adults with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities in India.

ICSC, a non-governmental charitable organization, registered under the Government of India Charitable Trust Act, has been working among children with developmental disabilities since 2002.

ICSC is a viable instrument of social change; it emphasizes research, special education and health programs, by empowering people with disabilities, their families, and the community at large, to make decisions of life priorities for themselves.

Why ICSC?

It is estimated that in India there are about 90 million people who are categorized as ‘Disabled’, out of which 31.5 million people are considered those with mental challenges. Despite the fact that 2.5 to 3 percent of the Indian population constituted ‘the disabled’, it was only in June, 2000 that the Government of India officially announced that disability be included in Census 2001. People with disabilities in India are forced to live in isolation and receive little support except those provided by parents and relatives who themselves struggle to make both ends meet. People with intellectual challenges are, perhaps, the worst affected, with the onus of care on the family rather than the community. It is where the ICSC comes in.

ICSC is also designed to help local organizations that are already working in the filed of mental disabilities to provide support services to people with developmental disabilities, particularly to those with intellectual challenges. ICSC will enhance its ability to meet, its goal by monitoring and reporting performance aggregated at the community, national and organizational levels.

What does ICSC do?
India Center for Social Change does the following:

Conduct village based surveys to identify, people with developmental disabilities.

Operate village- based day care-cum-vocational training centers for children/youth in collaboration with local governing bodies and other non-governmental organizations.